The Sounding Board
by HiddenScribe
Summary: Zelda suggests a sounding board to help Peach deal with stress from her current situations, but it's not anyone she was expecting. Steamy times inside.
1. Chapter 1

Lowering the hood of her cloak, Peach, crowned princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, looked around at her dismal surroundings. Geno's was a dark, filthy bar on the edges of town. She rubbed her fingers together, feeling her nerves rising. My gloves will be ruined in here, she thought. She felt as though all eyes were on her, and for once, the saying was not an exaggeration. She ran her fingers over her hair nervously, making sure her crown was on straight, that the front of her dress wasn't rumpled. She wondered why she'd bothered coming, how she could have accepted an offer from someone so... ruthless.

Footsteps, heavy with power, came to her attention, growing closer and closer until they were right next to her. "Princess Peach?" Automatically, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. "What are you doing here?" Bowser, King of the Koopa clan stared down at her with curiosity. She felt her cheeks flame. The two had a complicated relationship, to say the least. At the moment, he was one of the last beings she wanted to see. She had no idea what to say, but before her clumsy brain could string something half-decent together, someone else put an arm around her.

"There you are, You Majesty. You came. I have to admit, I wasn't sure you would."

Bowser's nostrils flared at this interruption, expelling small puffs of grey smoke."I don't think the lady asked for your company, Ganondorf," he growled. She opened her mouth, but the arm around her clutched her slightly harder, the long fingers curling around her elbow. Ganondorf responded for her.

"True. She did not. Someone asked on her behalf, but as you can see, she has appeared, and she has consented to be here, haven't you, Princess? There, you see? A nod. Now, if you'll excuse us, I would hate for our booth to be stolen out from under us. The waitress wasn't sure if it would safe for long. Bowser, always good seeing you. Come along, Your Majesty." And then he turned swifty away, leaving the Koopa King sputtering with outrage behind him. His koopalings surrounded him and together they slunk off to the pool table, though Bowser continued to shoot dirty looks towards their backs.

Once they reached their table, far from the eyes of the others, she finally began to relax. He held out her chair. Peach unclasped her hood and hung it up before accepting. The pink of her gown seemed impossibly cheerful in the gloom of the bar. "Thank you," she said, looking across the table as Ganondorf settled himself. "This town is so small, isn't it? It can be impossible to avoid the people you don't want to see." He said nothing to this, but took a long drink from the glass in front of him. He gestured to the drink menu as he did.

"Please, let me buy you a drink." He'd expected her to shake her head and order a strawberry soda, but he was surprised when Peach actually picked up the book and flipped through the slightly sticky pages.

"I'll have a Tequila Sunrise, please and thank you."

"Be right back." Tequila, he thought. Never in his live did he think he'd ever be buying this little blondie tequila, but he went over to the bar and ordered it, plus another whiskey for himself. When he returned to the booth, she was closing her tiny purse and seemed embarrassed to be caught doing so. He noticed that her lips looked different. Shinier. Glossier. She smelled like sugar. "One Tequila Sunrise for the lady," he grinned as he placed the drink down on the coaster in front of her. Her eyes lit up as she took it in.

"I just love how the red and yellow blend together," she commented, swirling the drink with the green mixing straw. There was already grey dust embedded in her gloves where her arms had touched the table top. "Yum! This is better than I expected it would be."

"The world is full of surprises," he commented, and then they both smiled, silently acknowledging the strangeness of their situation. When he realized she wasn't sure how to continue the conversation, he decided to help her along. "Zelda told me you needed a... sounding board." He took another swallow of his drink, not taking his hand away from the glass as he watched her. She found it unnerving, but also, strangely exciting.

"Yes, Yes, I do. I just don't know what to do any more, and I could use some advice from a male perspective. She told me you're very good with situations like mine." The innocence in her face was almost too much for him to take, but he managed to tame down his smirk.

"Tell me what's going on." He finished the first drink and enjoyed the light headed buzz that was burning through him. He set the empty aside, but didn't pick up the second. That was to nurse while she talked. He didn't want to lose his head. He needed to listen, he needed to know ever word she said. This was all too good to miss. He'd had his eye on the lovely Peach ever since they'd both stepped onto the battlefield together. There was something in the way she twisted her hips, the way her chest bounced when her umbrella jerked open. He'd ended up losing, but had done so gracefully. He'd been occupied, he explained to her, kissing her hand, inhaling her perfumed glove as he did so, savouring the flowery essence of her. Of course, he'd been under the impression that she was somehow involved with that little red plumber. As the minutes ticked by, he came to know better. Now he knew the whole story, knew all about how Mario had done so much for her that she felt she could never really leave him, and that she wanted Bowser to respect the fact she had to give Mario a fair shot without any kidnappings getting in the way. Not to mention the fact that they'd all been recruited into battle against each other again. "I thought it would make it better, but it's just made every thing worse.." She summed it all up with a final slurp of her drink. Then she sighed, and looked up at him for help. "Do you have any insight for me on the situation?"

He inhaled deeply, held it for a moment, and then exhaled slowly. "I have a lot of thoughts about all this. But I don't know if you want to hear them or not. I think that you just want to hear me tell you about how the situation will work itself out." She blinked, looking as stunned as the time Jigglypuff had swatted her in the face with a paper fan. A red flush of rage spread into her cheeks. She was such an emotional thing, Peach was. Such a different breed of Princess than they had in Hyrule. He found it wonderfully refreshing. "Listen to me, you can talk about this over and over, but you know it won't change the situation or your mind about what you're going to do next. Why not just enjoy a drink for once? Take a night off from baggage!" He caught the servers eye and called for a round of shots. The server collected their glasses and set the small glasses before them, the liquor overflowing. Peach sat motionless, silent, staring at her hands, taking in both the dirt that had ruined the silk and Ganondorf's words that were bouncing around in her head. Then she took a deep breath and removed first her left glove, then her right. He chuckled as she tossed them aside, and took up her shot.

"You're right. You know, you are so, so right!" Peach declared. She raised the glass and then downed it in one go. Immediately, she was doubled over, coughing at the unfamiliar harshness. She covered her mouth with her hands, trying to suppress the un-ladylike sounds from her throat, but Ganondorf was there first, easily pulling them away, his fingers wrapping around her wrists.

"Cough, it's all right. You'll choke if you don't cough, you'll make it worse. It's just the burn of the brew, you're fine. You're more than fine." His low rumble soothed her through the fit, and she looked up at him gratefully. Her eyes were so much bigger than his. Everything seemed rounder in her world. "You're... lovely," he continued, "so, so lovely." His thumbs were rubbing back and forth on her palms, and she swallowed.

"Zelda told me, um, that you... that she... that sometimes, you two-"

"Mmm hmm."

"Could, um, well, could I, I mean, would you-"

He grinned at her and dropped one hand to land on her thigh. He squeezed it through the layers of fabric and she let out one tiny, perfect squeak. "I'm going to settle the bill."

"Oh, well, let me get my half of it, I'll just give you-"

He cupped her cheek, wondering how skin could look so much like porcelain. "Just have your cloak on when I get back. I'll have a cab hailed."


	2. Chapter 2

The cab ride had been silent. She'd sat primly on the right side, staring out the window, occasionally running her fingers through her hair. He took up the left, flicking through the messages on his communicator. The trip to his apartment wasn't long enough for things to become awkward, and by the time he'd unlocked his front door, Peach was simmering inside. She had been so embroiled with the same two men for so long that she'd forgotten how exciting everything was when it was with someone new. "I like your apartment. Do you normally cab to the stadium, or do you have a car, or is this on a bus route-"

He chuckled "You don't have to make small talk, Princess."

"You don't have to call me Princess." She sat down on his couch, her dress slippery against the leather.

"I'll try to remember that." His voice was teasing, as he walked toward the kitchen to fix something to drink. "I suppose you won't need that then, will you?" He pointed at the crown with a bottle of tonic from the doorway, and she giggled.

"No, I really don't. Truth be told, it can be painful having it there." She removed the crown (along with a surprising amount of hair pins) and her big blue earrings, leaving this collection of femininity in a heap on his coffee table. "I have to practically glue it to get it to stay on some days." He had removed his outer armour, leaving him clad in just navy pants and a simple black shirt. He'd rolled up his sleeves. His arms were strong, thick with muscle and dense with red hair. She took her drink gratefully, feeling very thirsty suddenly. He watched the water move down her shapely throat as she drank.

"Why don't you just wear you're hair tied up then, or at least back from your face?" He had sat down beside her, and his weight made her shift slightly, causing their knees to brush against one another's.

"I used to, but I don't know... Mari- That is, Most of my friends said it didn't look very nice when it was in a ponytail. That it looked better down."

"Well, as a red-blooded Gerudo male, might I throw my thoughts into the ring?" Without waiting for her answer, he turned towards her, sitting sideways on the couch. Indicating for her to do the same, she did, twisting, her dress caught under her. One pale leg, clad in her usual white pantyhose was exposed. He carefully reached up, gathering her hair up in his hands. He was so close to her, she could smell him. He smelled of rust, leather, and other scents she'd never experienced before. She breathed deep, her eyes closed, indulging in the feeling of his battle-hardened fingers through her hair. "There. Now let me just... hmm... yes. Yes, I think I understand now."

"Understand what?"

"I understand that Mario is beginning to lose his mind, his sight, or both."

"I never said anything about Mario!"

"Didn't you?" he pointed out, and he could almost see the steam starting to gush from her ears. He tightened his grip around her ponytail, and it instantly receded. "Oh, how angry you get when you have your buttons pushed." His grin was devilish. "I wonder if that works for your physical buttons too..." The embarrassed-but-excited moan that poured from her mouth caused his cock to twitch painfully inside his jeans.

Releasing her hair, he instead cupped and tilted her face upwards, kissing her forcefully, his free arm snaking around her waist. His lips were wide and warm, his tongue firm and determined. She let him kiss her like she'd never been kissed before, and really, she hadn't. Nobody have ever kissed her like this. He broke away only once, to look her in the eyes, her famous big blue eyes, to make sure everything was ok, that she wanted this, that she needed this. She had nodded and then had reached up for his hand, had let herself be pulled to her feet. Her knees had been wobbly before from alcohol, but now she felt herself shaking for a whole new reason.

He smiled, and leaned his head down to her hair. She rested her head on his chest to stop the spinning of the world for a moment. He smelled of sweat and leather, a combination she'd never inhaled before, and it made everything much better. Better, but hotter. Everything was hot now, too hot. She needed to cool down. She reached behind her and attempted to pull down the heavy zipper that held her dress in place. "

Please, allow me." He breathed the request into her ear and she could feel her very core begin to throb. She took a sharp breath, and then gathered her hair over to the left , pulling the bright yellow strands over her shoulder. "Wait, you missed a strand here..." Gently, he cleared every bit of her hair from the zipper, smoothing it to the side, protectively, possessively. He grasped the back of her collar with one hand, the back of his finger slipping between the fabric and her skin. She inhaled at his touch, and he grinned up at the ceiling in pure joy. Peach shut her eyes just before he pulled the zipper down, from the nape of her neck right down to the small of her back, in one fluid motion.

She exhaled gratefully as the stiff fabric fell away from her body. Princess Peach was well known for the beautiful finery she wore, and this dress was no exception. It was richly emroidered, with bright gems woven right into the designs. He'd been expecting a corseted affair, slips and bustles, but he was pleasantly surprised when she stood up from her pink couture cocoon. "Not what you wanted to see?" she asked, mistaking his shock for displeasure.

"Not what I thought I'd see. I have to admit, I like this more." He sunk back onto the couch, and motioned for her to move out into the middle of the room. "Please? Let me admire, won't you?" She followed his direction, smiling wide, enjoying the attention. Her hair was tousled, her eyes lidded with desire. Her breasts will contained in white and pink satin, decorated with the pattern of stars. There were bows on the straps as well as one tucked on the front of the matching panties. Best of all, her white pantyhose turned out to be white stockings, stockings were held up by a matching garter belt.

He loved the tint to her skin that had come out now that she was flushed. It was like a peep into the future, an image of what he could bring out from her body, if he was good enough to reach it. "My God, Peach. You are just...just..." He failed to find the words, too distracted by the sight in front of him to think. He rubbed his the front of his pants, along what she hoped was the length of his cock. "I want to do so many different things to you that it's hard to know where to start." Peach smiled knowingly.

"Zelda gave me an idea of your interests."

"She wasn't game for all of them."

"I know."

"So she told you everything then? Every last, little detail?" Peach suddenly can't quite meet his gaze, and he knows the answer is yes. "Then you know what I want you to do, don't you?" She nods slowly, and reaches behind her to unhook her bra. "Diving right into it, are you?" He leans back, and chuckles as she turns tomato red.

"Do you want me to stop?"

He leans back against the leather, exhaling with pleasure. "Don't worry, Peach. You'll know when I want you to stop."

AN: So this is just something I threw together, because I love the idea of Ganoneach. Let me know what you think.


End file.
